How to pronounce kids in American English

IPA /kɪdz/ Syllables 1 · kihdz Stress 1st syllable

KIHDZ

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Americans pronounce kids as KIHDZ (/kɪdz/). You'll hear it in sentences like "Are the kids asleep already?" or "How are the kids doing in school this semester?" — more examples below.

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Sound by sound

Every sound in "kids".

1 syllable, 4 sounds. Explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.

k/k/

Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate (velum). Stop the air, then release.

ih/ɪ/

Drop your jaw slightly with relaxed lips. Touch the tongue tip behind the bottom front teeth and arch the top-front toward the roof.

d/d/

Touch the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth just behind your teeth. Add vocal cord vibration as you release.

z/z/

Same position as S, but add vocal cord vibration. Feel the buzz.

In real conversation

Hear "kids" in the wild.

Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.

"Are the kids asleep already?"

ar dhuh KIHDZ uh·SLEEP ahl·REH·dee

"How are the kids doing in school this semester?"

HOW er dhuh KIHDZ DOO·uhng uhn SKOOL dhihs suh·MEH·ster

"I cannot believe how fast the kids have grown over the years."

ahy KA·naht buh·LEEV HOW FAST dhuh KIHDZ huhv GROHN OH·ver dhuh YEERZ

"The kids are playing in the park across the street."

dhuh KIHDZ er PLAY·uhng ihn dhuh PARK uh·KRAHS dhuh STREET

"The kids need to get dressed and eat before the school bus arrives."

dhuh KIHDZ NEED tuh GEHT DREHST and EET buh·FOR dhuh SKOOL BUHS uh·RAHYVZ

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Questions

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Is the American pronunciation of "kids" different from British English?

American English uses different vowel shapes, a relaxed retroflex R, and connected-speech tricks like flap-T and glottal-stop T that British Received Pronunciation generally avoids. The respell "KIHDZ" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.